Spark & Echo –
Inheritance
2012, Spark & Echo
2012, Spark & Echo
Spark & Echo is perhaps one of the most perfectly named
acts I’ve ever come across. The duo
comprised of husband and wife team Jonathon Roberts and Emily Clare Zempel has
a back story that’s as interesting as their music. Born in Middle America, each began their love
of music at an early age. The two met at
an audition for jazz choir in college and eventually began to date. Graduate school came for Emily, while
Jonathon headed out for the road. The
inevitable breakup came; but years later they were reunited in New York City through
church. The echoes of the past wore at
them, but it took time. They eventually
reconvened their relationship, and combined musical direction, as Spark &
Echo. The duo has a passion for telling
some of the more bombastic stories from the Bible in song, and this passion is unmistakable
on the duo’s sophomore album, Inheritance.
Spark & Echo’s unique musical perspective is very
evident throughout Inheritance. Most intriguing are the album’s imperfections. Roberts’ voice is pleasant to listen to, and
he shows off a rather impressive falsetto range at times during the album, but
his pitch and tone can suffer at inopportune times. Zempel’s voice is similarly untrained,
although there is an edge to her sound that is appealing. The compositions are generally well crafted,
but the marriage of music to lyric is sometimes forced. In spite of this, Inheritance works on several levels.
To begin with, for whatever weaknesses you might perceive in
Roberts and Zempel, the blend of their voices is perfect. Their two voices sound like they were made to
fit together. The energy on the album is
unflagging, even on the slower songs.
Spark & Echo creates out of a love for making great music, and also
for their subject matter. This goes a
long way. Finally, there is a musical
wanderlust that wends its way through Inheritance,
with Spark & Echo willing to follow wherever the song leads. Whether its They Might Be Giants influenced
alt-pop (“Buy Me A Hat”, “What A Day”); jazz/soul (“Inheritance”); Latin Pop (“Yo
Sé”); or even French Chanson (“Battles”); Spark & Echo finds a way to
entertain and inform.
Rating: 3 Stars
(Out of 5)
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